


Umbrella

by protectoroffaeries



Series: Tumblr Prompt Fics [4]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Ficlet Prompt Fill, Found Family, Gen, Stealing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 06:30:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14971085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectoroffaeries/pseuds/protectoroffaeries
Summary: "What have you got there?""A fancy stick."





	Umbrella

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a tumblr prompt from @enecola: nott steals an umbrella for caleb. Originally posted @nottmygoblindaughter.

Nott sees the man with the stick hanging from his wrist as her friends head back into The Leaky Tap. He’s glancing around with a scrunched look on his face, which is Nott’s first clue that he’s grumpy. Nott doesn’t know what to think about Mollymauk’s only-steal-from-the-grumpy advice, but she figures if she does it for awhile, he might let her have one of the shiny baubles he keeps on his horns. She likes those baubles. **  
**

Nott lurks outside The Leaky Tap, watching from the shadows. After a few minutes, the man lets out a huff and shakes his head, which is more evidence that he is, in fact, very grumpy. He’s also old, but his stick doesn’t look like the normal canes she nicks from old people. It doesn’t even touch the ground. But it is pretty; it has a shiny golden piece fixed to the end of it. Nott’s fingers twitch just looking at it, the familiar itch washing over her.

Nott creeps behind the grumpy man, careful to keep her footsteps light and silent. He takes something out of his pocket - she can’t quite see it from where she’s standing, but she can tell by the way his head is turned that he’s looking at it - and she seizes the opportunity to gently slip the stick away from him.

“What in the h-” She’s gone before he can finish the curse.

Nott slips into The Leaky Tap and immediately finds her way to the room she and Caleb are sharing. He’s in there, sitting on the floor reading the book Jester got him from the fancy part of the city. He looks up from it when he hears her come in and says, “Hey, Nott. What have you got there?”

“A fancy stick,” she says, and she holds the stick up for him to see. On closer inspection, she realizes it has a ruffled sleeve over it, which makes her think it must be extra fancy. She pokes it, and the ruffles fan out without warning. She drops it with a start.

Nott peers at it after it falls to the ground, and she realizes it looks familiar. It’s one of those things people use against the rain. What are they called?

“You found an umbrella?” Caleb says, and now he’s looking at her with a smile on his face.

“Yes, yes, I found this umbrella,”  _that’s the word_ , Nott thinks, but it might not be the Common word, because she knows Caleb switches to Zemnian sometimes, “on a grumpy man.”

“Ah yes, still targeting the grumpy people?”

“Yes. Do you want it?”

Caleb blinks. “Want… the umbrella?”

“Yes,” Nott says, because now that she thinks about it, it makes perfect sense. She doesn’t need an umbrella. It’s not really a stick, either, so it doesn’t work with her collection. Besides, Caleb has done so much for her. The best thing to do, Nott thinks, is to give him some of the stuff she takes. “It’s for you.”

Nott picks it up off the ground and brings it over to Caleb.

“Oh.  _Danke schön_ ,” Caleb says. He takes the umbrella and smooths its ruffles until they’re closed again, and then he takes a close look at the shiny golden tip. “It is very nice.”

“ _Bitte schön_ ,” Nott replies without much thought, already wandering over to her corner of the room. She needs to check on her collection now, even if she doesn’t have something new to add to it. 


End file.
